KR100668309B1 - Manufacturing method of nozzle plate - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed are a nozzle plate having a structure capable of controlling the ejection direction of ink droplets, and an inkjet printhead and a method of manufacturing the nozzle plate. At least one nozzle is formed through the disclosed nozzle plate, and a heater is arranged around the nozzle to deflect the discharge direction of the fluid discharged through the nozzle by partially heating the fluid in the nozzle to change its surface tension. Is placed. The heater is divided into at least two segments arranged around the nozzles at predetermined intervals from the nozzle, and each of the at least two segments is connected with an electrode for independently driving each of the at least two segments. The disclosed inkjet printhead includes a flow path plate in which an ink flow path including a plurality of pressure chambers is formed, a piezoelectric actuator formed on the top of the flow path plate, and the nozzle plate attached to a bottom surface of the flow path plate. According to the present invention, it is possible to control the discharge direction of the ink droplets discharged through the nozzle in various directions, so that the image can be printed at a high DPI while using a printhead having a low CPI.

Description

Manufacturing method of nozzle plate

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a general configuration of a conventional piezoelectric drive inkjet printhead.

2 and 3 illustrate two conventional methods for printing a high DPI image using a low CPI printhead.

4 is a vertical sectional view of the inkjet printhead according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

5A is a partially enlarged plan view illustrating an example of a heater provided in the nozzle plate illustrated in FIG. 4.

5B is a partially enlarged plan view illustrating another example of the heater provided in the nozzle plate illustrated in FIG. 4.

6A to 6C are cross-sectional views for explaining the deflection of ink droplets by the nozzle plate according to the present invention shown in FIG. 5A.

7 is a view for explaining a method of printing a high resolution image by the nozzle plate of the inkjet printhead according to the present invention.

8A to 8F are cross-sectional views showing a method of manufacturing a nozzle plate according to the present invention shown in FIG.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

100 ... Nozzle Plate 110 ... Substrate

120 electrode 130 insulation layer

140 ... heater 141,142,143,144 ... heater segment

150 ... Nozzle 200 ... Euro Plate

202 ... Manifold 203 ... Lister

204 Pressure chamber 205 Damper

210 ... 1st Euro plate 212 ... insulating film

220.2nd flow path plate 300 ... piezoelectric actuator

310 lower electrode 320 piezoelectric film

330 ... Upper electrode 400 ... Paper

401,402,403 ... dot

The present invention relates to an inkjet printhead, and more particularly, to a nozzle plate having a structure capable of controlling the ejection direction of ink droplets ejected through a nozzle, and an inkjet printhead having the same to print a high resolution image. And a method for producing the nozzle plate.

In general, an inkjet printhead is an apparatus for printing an image of a predetermined color on the surface of a printing object by ejecting a small droplet of printing ink to a desired position on the printing object such as paper or fabric. Such inkjet printheads can be classified into two types according to ink ejection methods. One is a thermal drive inkjet printhead, and the other is a piezoelectric drive inkjet printhead.

The ink droplet ejection mechanism in the thermally driven inkjet printhead will be described below. When a pulse-type current flows to a heater made of a resistive heating element, as the heat is generated in the heater and the ink adjacent to the heater is heated in a short time, bubbles are generated as the ink is boiled, and the bubbles generated are expanded and filled in the ink chamber. Pressure is applied to the ink. As a result, the ink near the nozzle is discharged out of the ink chamber in the form of droplets through the nozzle. By the way, in such a heat-driven inkjet printhead, the ink must be heated to a few hundred degrees Celsius or more to form bubbles, which consumes a lot of energy, exerts a lot of thermal stress on the printhead itself, and cools the heated ink. It takes a relatively long time to increase the driving frequency.

The piezoelectric drive-type inkjet printhead is an inkjet printhead in which ink is discharged at a pressure applied to the ink due to deformation of the piezoelectric body, and a general configuration thereof is shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 1, a manifold 13 constituting an ink flow path, a plurality of restrictors 12, and a plurality of pressure chambers 11 are formed in a flow path plate 10, and a plurality of nozzle plates 20 are formed in the flow path plate 10. A plurality of nozzles 22 corresponding to each of the pressure chambers 11 are formed. The piezoelectric actuator 40 is provided on the flow path plate 10. The manifold 13 is a passage for supplying ink flowing from an ink reservoir (not shown) to each of the plurality of pressure chambers 11, and the restrictor 12 is moved from the manifold 13 into the pressure chamber 11. It is a passage through which ink flows. The plurality of pressure chambers 11 are filled with the ink to be discharged, and are arranged on one side or both sides of the manifold 13. The pressure chamber 11 generates a change in pressure for ejecting or injecting ink by changing its volume by driving the piezoelectric actuator 40. To this end, a portion of the flow path plate 10 that forms the upper wall of the pressure chamber 11 serves as the diaphragm 14 deformed by the piezoelectric actuator 40.

The piezoelectric actuator 40 includes a lower electrode 41, a piezoelectric film 42, and an upper electrode 43 sequentially stacked on the flow path plate 10. A silicon oxide film 31 is formed between the lower electrode 41 and the flow path plate 10 as an insulating film. The lower electrode 41 is formed on the entire surface of the silicon oxide film 31 and serves as a common electrode. The piezoelectric film 42 is formed on the lower electrode 41 to be positioned above the pressure chamber 11. The upper electrode 43 is formed on the piezoelectric film 42 and serves as a driving electrode for applying a voltage to the piezoelectric film 42.

In printing an image using a conventional inkjet printhead having the above configuration, the resolution of the image is greatly influenced by the number of nozzles per inch. Here, the number of nozzles per inch is generally expressed in CPI (Channel per Inch), and the resolution of the image is generally expressed in Dot per Inch (DPI). However, in conventional inkjet printheads, the improvement in CPI is dependent on the development of microfabrication gases and actuators of semiconductor substrates, and the speed of development of these technologies does not sufficiently satisfy the recent trend of demanding higher resolution images. I can't.

Accordingly, various methods of printing a high DPI image using a low CPI printhead are conventionally used, and two examples thereof are illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3.

One method is to arrange a plurality of nozzles 51, 52 in two or more rows in the printhead 50, as shown in FIG. At this time, the nozzles 51 arranged in the first row and the nozzles 52 arranged in the second row are arranged to be staggered with each other. As such, using the printhead 50 in which the nozzles 51 and 52 are arranged in an array, ink droplets ejected from the nozzles 51 arranged in the first row and the nozzles 52 arranged in the second row. The image is printed so that ink droplets ejected from the ink form one line. Then, on the paper 60, the dots 61 by the nozzles 51 of the first row and the dots 62 by the nozzles 52 of the second row are alternately formed on one line. Therefore, the DPI of the image formed on the paper 60 is twice that of the CPI of the printhead 50.

However, in such a printhead 50, the nozzles 51, 52 must be arranged in the correct position in a plurality of rows, which requires a very precise alignment system, and the size of the printhead 50 becomes large. . Therefore, there is a disadvantage that the price of the printhead 50 is expensive.

Another method is a method of printing by tilting a printhead 70 having a low CPI at a predetermined angle [theta] with respect to the paper 80, as shown in FIG. Then, dots 81 having a narrower spacing than the spacing of the nozzles 71 formed on the printhead 70 are formed on the paper 80. Therefore, the DPI of the image formed on the paper 80 becomes higher than the CPI of the printhead 70. In this case, as the instructor angle θ of the printhead 70 with respect to the paper 80 increases, the DPI increases, but the print area is reduced. If the same print area is to be obtained, the length of the printhead 70 must be long.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems of the prior art, in particular, a nozzle plate having a heater provided around the nozzle to control the ejection direction of the ink droplets discharged through the nozzle and having a high resolution image It is an object of the present invention to provide a printable inkjet printhead and a method of manufacturing the nozzle plate thereof.

The nozzle plate according to the present invention for achieving the above technical problem,

In the nozzle plate through which at least one nozzle for discharging fluid is formed,

The heater is arranged around the nozzle to partially deflect the fluid discharged through the nozzle by partially heating the fluid in the nozzle to change its surface tension.

In the present invention, the heater may be divided into at least two segments disposed around the nozzle at predetermined intervals from the nozzle, and each of the at least two segments independently drives each of the at least two segments. Electrodes for can be connected. Preferably, the heater consists of four segments divided at 90 ° intervals along the circumference of the nozzle.

In the present invention, the nozzle plate may include a substrate formed through the nozzle, the electrode and the heater formed on the substrate, and an insulating layer formed on the substrate to cover the electrode and the heater. .

Here, the substrate is preferably made of a base substrate for a printed circuit board, the heater may be made of a resistance heating element, such as TaAl or TaN, the electrode may be made of copper (Cu), the insulating layer is PSR (Photo Solder Resist).

And, the inkjet printhead according to the present invention for achieving the above technical problem,

A flow path plate having an ink flow path including a plurality of pressure chambers in which ink to be discharged is filled;

A piezoelectric actuator formed on an upper portion of the flow path plate to provide a driving force for ejecting ink to each of the plurality of pressure chambers; And

A nozzle plate attached to a bottom surface of the flow path plate and having a plurality of nozzles penetrated therein for ejecting ink from the plurality of pressure chambers,

Around each of the plurality of nozzles, a heater is arranged which deflects the ejection direction of the ink droplets ejected through the respective nozzles by partially heating the ink in the nozzles and changing the surface tension of the portions. It is characterized by.

In addition, the manufacturing method of the nozzle plate according to the present invention for achieving the above technical problem,

In the manufacturing method of the nozzle plate through which at least one nozzle for discharging a fluid,

Forming electrodes on the substrate in a predetermined pattern;

Forming a first insulating layer on the substrate to cover the electrode;

Patterning the first insulating layer to form a trench that exposes a portion of the electrode around a portion where the nozzle is to be formed;

Depositing a resistance heating element in the trench to form a heater;

Forming a second insulating layer on the first insulating layer to cover the heater; And

And forming a nozzle inside the heater by processing the substrate, the first insulating layer, and the second insulating layer to penetrate.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numerals refer to like elements, and the size of each element may be exaggerated for clarity and convenience of description. In addition, when one layer is described as being on top of a substrate or another layer, the layer may be present over and in direct contact with the substrate or another layer, with a third layer in between.

4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of an inkjet printhead according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5A is a partially enlarged plan view showing an example of a heater provided in the nozzle plate shown in FIG. 4, and FIG. 5B is shown in FIG. 4. A partially enlarged plan view showing another example of a heater provided in the nozzle plate.

First, referring to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5A, an inkjet printhead according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a flow path plate 200 having an ink flow path including a plurality of pressure chambers 204, and the flow path plate 200. And a piezoelectric actuator 300 which is formed on an upper portion of the plurality of pressure chambers 204 and provides a driving force for ejecting ink to each of the plurality of pressure chambers 204, and is attached to a bottom surface of the flow path plate 200. A plurality of nozzles 150 for discharging ink from the plurality of nozzles 150 are provided with nozzle plates 100 formed therethrough.

The ink flow path includes a plurality of pressure chambers 204 filled with ink to be discharged and generating a pressure change for ejecting ink, and a plurality of pressure chambers 204 for ink flowing through an ink inlet (not shown). A manifold 202, which is a common flow path to be supplied thereto, and a restrictor 203, which is an individual flow path for supplying ink from the manifold 202 to each pressure chamber 204, is included. In addition, between the pressure chamber 204 and the nozzle 150 formed in the nozzle plate 100, the energy generated in the pressure chamber 204 by the piezoelectric actuator 300 is concentrated toward the nozzle 150 and a sudden pressure change is generated. A damper 205 may be provided for buffering. Components forming the ink flow path are formed in the flow path plate 200. The portion of the flow path plate 200 that forms the upper wall of the pressure chamber 204 serves as a diaphragm that is deformed by driving the piezoelectric actuator 300.

Specifically, the flow path plate 200 may be composed of a first flow path plate 210 and a second flow path plate 220 as shown. In this case, the pressure chamber 204 is formed at a predetermined depth on the bottom surface of the first flow path plate 210. The pressure chamber 204 may have a longer rectangular parallelepiped shape in the flow direction of the ink.

The manifold 202 is formed on the second flow path plate 220. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the manifold 202 may be formed at a predetermined depth from an upper surface of the second flow path plate 220 or may be formed by vertically penetrating the second flow path plate 220. . In addition, the second flow path plate 220 is formed with a restrictor 203 which is a separate flow path connecting one end of each of the manifold 202 and the plurality of pressure chambers 204. As shown in FIG. 4, the restrictor 203 may be formed to have a predetermined depth from an upper surface of the second flow path plate 220, or may be formed by vertically penetrating the second flow path plate 220. . In addition, a damper 205 connecting the pressure chamber 204 and the nozzle 150 is vertically formed in the second flow path plate 220 at a position corresponding to the other end of each of the plurality of pressure chambers 204.

On the other hand, although the components constituting the ink flow path have been shown and described as being divided into two flow path plates 210 and 220, the arrangement of the ink flow paths is merely exemplary. That is, the inkjet printhead according to the present invention may be provided with ink passages of various configurations, and these ink passages may be formed on more plates than the two passage plates 210 and 220, but only one passage. It may be formed in the plate.

The piezoelectric actuator 300 is formed above the first flow path plate 210 in which the pressure chamber 204 is formed, and serves to provide a driving force for ejecting ink to the pressure chamber 204. The piezoelectric actuator 300 includes a lower electrode 310 serving as a common electrode, a piezoelectric film 320 deformed according to application of a voltage, and an upper electrode 330 serving as a driving electrode. The lower electrode 310, the piezoelectric film 320, and the upper electrode 330 are sequentially stacked on the first flow path plate 210.

In detail, an insulating film 212 is formed between the lower electrode 310 and the first flow path plate 210. The lower electrode 310 is formed on the entire surface of the insulating film 212 and may be formed of one conductive metal material layer. However, the lower electrode 310 may be formed of two metal thin films, a Ti layer and a Pt layer. As such, the lower electrode 310 formed of the Ti / Pt layer not only functions as a common electrode, but also inter-diffusions between the first flow path plate 210 below and the piezoelectric film 320 formed thereon. It also serves as a diffusion barrier layer to prevent diffusion. The piezoelectric film 320 is formed on the lower electrode 310 and disposed at a position corresponding to the pressure chamber 204. The piezoelectric film 320 is deformed by the application of a voltage, thereby deforming the piezoelectric plate on the pressure chamber 204 by the deformation thereof. The piezoelectric film 320 may be made of a piezoelectric material, preferably a lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramic material. The upper electrode 330 serves as a driving electrode for applying a voltage to the piezoelectric film 320 and is formed on the piezoelectric film 320.

The nozzle plate 100 is attached to the bottom of the second flow path plate 220. The nozzle plate 100 penetrates through the nozzle plate 100 at a position corresponding to the damper 205. In addition, the nozzle 150 may be formed in a tapered shape in which the cross-sectional area gradually decreases toward the outlet.

And, as a feature of the present invention, the nozzle plate 100 has a heater 140 disposed around each of the plurality of nozzles 150, and an electrode 120 for driving the heater 140. . Specifically, the nozzle plate 100 may include a substrate 110 formed through the plurality of nozzles 150, a heater 140 and an electrode 120 formed on the substrate 110, and the heater ( An insulating layer 130 formed on the substrate 110 to cover the 140 and the electrode 120 is provided.

Various substrates such as a silicon wafer may be used as the substrate 110, but it is preferable to use a base substrate for a printed circuit board (PCB). This is because the nozzle plate 100 can be easily manufactured at a lower cost, as will be described later.

The heater 140 is disposed around each of the plurality of nozzles 150. The heater 140 may be made of a resistance heating element, such as TaAl or TaN. As shown in FIG. 5A, the heater 140 is divided into two segments 141 and 142 disposed around the nozzle 150 at a predetermined distance from the nozzle 150. Each of the two segments 141 and 142 has an arc shape as shown. The two segments 141, 142 are driven independently to partially heat the ink in the nozzle 150. Accordingly, the surface tension of the heated portion of the ink in the nozzle 150 is changed, so that the discharge direction of the ink droplets discharged through the nozzle 150 is deflected. This will be described in detail later.

In addition, the electrode 120 is made of a metal having excellent conductivity. For example, the electrode 120 may be made of copper (Cu), which is mainly used as a wiring material in PCB manufacturing. The electrode 120 has a pattern connected to each of the two segments 141 and 142, as shown in FIG. 5A, to independently drive the two segments 141 and 142 of the heater 140. Is formed. However, the electrode 120 may be formed in various patterns that may be connected to each of the two segments 141 and 142 even though the pattern is not illustrated in FIG. 5A.

The insulating layer 130 is formed on the substrate 110 to cover the heater 140 and the electrode 120 to protect and insulate them. Various insulating materials may be used as the insulating layer 130, but it is preferable that the insulating layer 130 is made of PSR (Photo Solder Resist) which is mainly used as an insulating material in PCB manufacturing.

5B is a partially enlarged plan view illustrating another example of the heater provided in the nozzle plate illustrated in FIG. 4.

Referring to FIG. 5B, the heater 140 provided in the nozzle plate 100 according to the present invention includes four segments 141, 142, 143, and 144 divided at 90 ° intervals along the circumference of the nozzle 150. It may be made of. Each of the four segments 141, 142, 143, and 144 has an arc shape as shown. In addition, the electrode 120 has a pattern connected to each of the four segments 141, 142, 143, and 144 as shown to drive the four segments 141, 142, 143, and 144 independently. Is formed. Meanwhile, the electrode 120 may be formed in various patterns that may be connected to each of the four segments 141, 142, 143, and 144 even though the pattern is not illustrated in FIG. 5B.

5A and 5B, the heater 140 provided in the nozzle plate 100 according to the present invention may be divided into two segments 141 and 142 or four segments 141, 142, 143 and 144. Divided. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the heater 140 may be divided into three or five or more segments.

Hereinafter, referring to FIGS. 6A to 6C, a mechanism in which the direction of the ink droplets ejected through the nozzle is deflected in the nozzle plate having the heater divided into two segments shown in FIG. 5A will be described.

Referring first to FIG. 6A, if no current is supplied to the first segment 141 and the second segment 142 of the heater 140, heat is generated in both the first segment 141 and the second segment 142. Since it is not generated, the temperature of the ink in the nozzle 150 is uniform. In this case, the contact angle of the ink with respect to the inner surface of the nozzle 150 is uniform, so that a convex meniscus M is formed as shown in Fig. 6A. When pressure is applied to the ink in the nozzle 150 by driving the piezoelectric actuator 300, the ink is discharged from the nozzle 150 in the form of droplet D, in which the ink droplet D is straight. do.

Next, referring to FIG. 6B, when current is supplied only to the first segment 141 of the heater 140, heat is generated only in the first segment 141. Only the portion adjacent to 141 is heated. Accordingly, since the viscosity and surface tension of the ink of the heated portion is lowered, the contact angle of the ink with respect to the inner surface of the nozzle 150 of the portion is reduced, so that the meniscus M as shown in FIG. Is formed. In this case, when pressure is applied to the ink in the nozzle 150 by driving the piezoelectric actuator 300, the direction of the ink droplet D discharged from the nozzle 150 is deflected to the right. In this case, since the segments 141 and 142 of the heater 140 need only heat the ink to change the surface tension of the ink, for example, several tens of degrees Celsius, the inkjet printhead of the conventional thermal driving method is provided. Much less energy is consumed than a bubble heater.

Next, referring to FIG. 6C, when current is supplied only to the second segment 142 of the heater 140, heat is generated only in the second segment 142, so that the second segment of the ink in the nozzle 150 ( Only the portion adjacent to 142 is heated. Accordingly, the meniscus M as shown in FIG. 6C is formed, and the direction of the ink droplet D discharged from the nozzle 150 is deflected to the left.

As described above, when the two segments 141 and 142 of the heater 140 provided in the nozzle plate 100 are selectively driven, the direction of the ink droplet D discharged through the nozzle 150 is left. Or to the right. In addition, according to the nozzle plate 100 having the heater 140 divided into four segments 141, 142, 143, and 144 illustrated in FIG. 5B, the direction of the ink droplets discharged through the nozzle 150 may be viewed. It can be varied.

Meanwhile, the nozzle plate according to the present invention having the above-described configuration may be applied to various fluid ejection systems having at least one nozzle for ejecting a fluid as well as an inkjet printhead for ejecting ink droplets.

7 is a view for explaining a method of printing a high resolution image by the nozzle plate of the inkjet printhead according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, a plurality of nozzles 150 are arranged at a predetermined CPI in the inkjet printhead 100 according to the present invention, and segments 141 of the heaters 140 disposed around each nozzle 150. , 142 is selectively driven to change the direction of the ink droplets ejected from the nozzles 150. Then, dots 402 straight from each nozzle 150 and dots 402 and 403 deflected from each nozzle 150 are formed on one line at a predetermined interval on the paper 400. Therefore, the DPI of the image formed on the paper 400 can be improved by three times compared to the CPI of the printhead 100.

Meanwhile, according to the nozzle plate 100 having the heater 140 divided into four segments 141, 142, 143, and 144 illustrated in FIG. 5B, the direction of the ink droplets discharged through the nozzle 150 may be viewed. Various changes can be made so that a higher resolution image can be printed even by the printhead 100 having a lower CPI.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described a method of manufacturing a nozzle plate according to the present invention.

8A to 8F are cross-sectional views showing a method of manufacturing a nozzle plate according to the present invention shown in FIG. In these figures, the nozzle plate is shown so that the surface on which the heater and the electrode are formed is the upper surface for convenience of description.

Referring to FIG. 8A, first, a substrate 110 is prepared, and then an electrode 120 having a predetermined pattern is formed on the substrate 110. Specifically, it is preferable to use the base substrate for the PCB as described above as the substrate 110. The base substrate for the PCB mainly consists of polyimide. In addition, the electrode 120 may be formed by depositing a metal having excellent conductivity, such as copper (Cu), on the entire upper surface of the substrate 110 to a predetermined thickness, and then patterning the same in a predetermined pattern.

Next, as shown in FIG. 8B, a first insulating layer 131 is formed on the substrate 110 to cover the electrode 120. The first insulating layer 131 serves to protect the electrode 120 together with the insulation of the electrode 120. Specifically, the first insulating layer 131 may be formed by applying a photo solder resist (PSR) widely used in a PCB manufacturing process to the entire upper surface of the substrate 110.

Subsequently, as illustrated in FIG. 8C, the first insulating layer 131 formed on the upper surface of the substrate 110 is patterned to form a trench 133 exposing a portion of the electrode 120. In this case, the patterning of the first insulating layer 131 may be performed by a known photolithography process including exposure and development. In addition, the trench 133 is formed to be disposed around the portion where the nozzle (150 in FIG. 8F) is to be formed, and is formed to be divided into at least two parts.

Next, as shown in FIG. 8D, a resistance heating element such as TaAl or TaN is deposited in the trench 133 to form the heater 140. At this time, according to the shape of the trench 133 described above, the heater 140 is divided into at least two segments are formed.

Subsequently, as illustrated in FIG. 8E, a second insulating layer 132 is formed on the first insulating layer 131 to cover the heater 140. The second insulating layer 132 serves to protect the heater 140 together with the insulation of the heater 140. The second insulating layer 132 may be formed by applying a photo solder resist (PSR) similarly to the first insulating layer 131.

Finally, as shown in FIG. 8F, the nozzle 150 is formed by processing the substrate 110, the first insulating layer 131, and the second insulating layer 132 inside the heater 140. Thus, the nozzle plate 100 according to the present invention is completed. In this case, the nozzle 150 may be formed by laser processing or drilling the substrate 110, the first insulating layer 131, and the second insulating layer 132.

As described above, since the nozzle plate 100 according to the present invention can be manufactured by a PCB manufacturing process using the PCB base substrate 110, the process is simple and the manufacturing cost is low.

While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, these are merely exemplary, and those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible therefrom. For example, as described above, the nozzle plate according to the present invention can be applied to various fluid ejection systems having a nozzle for ejecting a fluid as well as an inkjet printhead for ejecting ink droplets. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention will be defined by the appended claims.

As described above, according to the present invention, the discharge direction of the ink droplets discharged through the nozzle can be controlled in various directions by adjusting the surface tension of the ink by the heater provided around the nozzle. Therefore, there is an effect that a high resolution image can be printed even by a printhead having a low CPI.

In addition, since the heater provided in the inkjet printhead according to the present invention only needs to heat the ink to the extent that the surface tension of the ink can be changed, for example, several tens of degrees Celsius, the bubble generation for the inkjet printhead of the conventional thermal drive type inkjet printhead. The energy consumption is much lower than that of the heater.

In addition, the nozzle plate according to the present invention has an advantage of low manufacturing cost because it can be easily manufactured using a base substrate for the PCB.

Claims (26)

delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete In the manufacturing method of the nozzle plate through which at least one nozzle for discharging a fluid, Forming electrodes on the substrate in a predetermined pattern; Forming a first insulating layer on the substrate to cover the electrode; Patterning the first insulating layer to form a trench that exposes a portion of the electrode around a portion where the nozzle is to be formed; Depositing a resistance heating element in the trench to form a heater; Forming a second insulating layer on the first insulating layer to cover the heater; And And forming a nozzle inside the heater by processing the substrate, the first insulating layer, and the second insulating layer to penetrate through the first insulating layer and the second insulating layer. The method of claim 19, A base plate for a printed circuit board is used as the substrate. The method of claim 19, And the electrode is formed by forming a metal layer having a predetermined thickness on the substrate and then patterning the metal layer in a predetermined pattern. The method of claim 21, The metal layer is a manufacturing method of the nozzle plate, characterized in that made of copper (Cu). The method of claim 19, The first insulating layer and the second insulating layer is a method of manufacturing a nozzle plate, characterized in that formed by applying a photo solder resist (PSR). The method of claim 19, And the heater is divided into at least two segments arranged around the nozzle at a predetermined interval from the nozzle. The method of claim 19, And the heater is formed by depositing at least one material of TaAl and TaN. The method of claim 19, The nozzle is a method of manufacturing a nozzle plate, characterized in that formed by laser processing or drill processing.

Images